Gator Chomps: Florida staff on the recruiting trail in full force Friday

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coaches have been on the road recruiting throughout this week, and the staff will go out with a bang Friday night.

UF coach Jim McElwain and his assistants are scheduled to visit more than 20 prospects and attend several high school games in Florida.

McElwain all over the state

McElwain spent Thursday in Miami seeing four prospects in the area. He followed that up Friday by visiting Southridge High School, home to Florida commits Kemore Gamble and Shawn Davis, 3-star running back Bentavious Thompson and 2018 wide receiver Mark Pope. The 4-star recruit is favoring Alabama and Florida, but his teammates are confident he will join them at UF.

Wide receivers coach Kerry Dixon II will also stop by Southridge on Friday.

McElwain planned to finish his day in Jacksonville to watch Trinity Christian Academy host IMG Academy with running backs coach Tim Skipper. That game features 5-star cornerback Shaun Wade (Ohio State commit) for TCA and a handful of targets from IMG, including 4-star center Cesar Ruiz, 3-star tight end Tre’ McKitty (Oregon commit) and 2018 offensive tackle Reuben Unije.

Trio of 5-star targets

Florida will see two more 5-star recruits Friday in addition to Wade.

Offensive line coach Mike Summers is visiting Alex Leatherwood, a 5-star offensive tackle from Pensacola, Fla. He’s currently committed to Alabama but appears to be wavering and has previously listed UF as his No. 2 school.

Skipper went to Orange City, Fla., for Lorenzo Lingard, a 5-star running back for 2018. He has visited Florida twice this season, most recently for the Missouri game.

4 more commits on deck

In addition to the five aforementioned pledges, four more future Gators will be seen by the staff Friday.

Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier is paying a visit to Clearwater’s Adarius Lemons, the state of Florida’s No. 1-ranked running back.